Electronic Turntable With Perfectly Over Engineered Design

Hello everyone... Today I'm back with another very exiting project... I do make stuffs.... And i have a channel on Youtube ... So it's quite necessary for me to have few good video and picture shots for my videos... Especially those rotating shots...
Untill now I had one small rotating device... That I made 2 years ago by salvaging parts from many items.... But that one.. Firstly not working properly anymore... And the major problem was... I needed a better alternative..... So I decided to make this new rotating platform for my upcoming projects....

I know that this project is way overkill in some areas... And is not designed properly... But... It's my first time designing a product in 3d and then manufacturing everything... Also.. It's absolute first time with Arduino and Servo motors.....
I learned basic arduino coding and done this project... I also know that my codes do seems wired... I will update my codes when I will get better alternatives....
Untill then... The project is more than enough for my needs...
All the project files and the other descriptions about the used parts will be available down soon...

After printing everything... I noticed some problems with tolerances... So I need to adjust the 3d CAD files also.... So pls be patient with me...

So without further a do.... Let's get started with the project....

The basic need of this project is not building a war robot or a space rocket... So let's keep this simple... From my experience with my last Turntable... And the references from the internet...I learned that this Turntable should turn...in both direction... And a controllable speed will be better..
Nothing fancy is needed for this build...
So I proceed with these in mind.... Firstly I thought to use a normal dc motor.... Which I will attach with gears to the system... And will use a so called pwm controller.... Or a voltage regulator for controlling the speed.... But then I came across with the fact that any dc motor would have a huge RPM to work with.. And in this scenario... That will be extra pain (though the Servo also gave me nothing but more pain... 😑)
So I Firstly ordered a MG995 servo motor... Which came few days later... And upon good inspection... I found that the Servo was broken already.... The gears weren't made of metal... And they have already worgn out..... So I returned them... And ordered MG996R this time.... But when it arrived... This servo was a 360 one..... For my application it was OK... But this also had no metal gears inside...

Then as for the controlling the system.... I Firstly tried to use 555 timer Ic to creat a pwm signal..with variable output, to control the Servo... But as for my own surprise.. That doesn't worked either..... So luckily I had a arduino mini in my collection for an another project.. And i tried that.... Which worked with no surprise (I wasn't wanted to use an arduino for this build... But.....)
Then I tinkered with the code... And finally came up with a horrible but working code...
In the mean time.. I printed the parts with my ender 3..in black and white pla filaments...

For this project... We will need the following items...

• 3d printer
• PLA filament
• Computer
• Fusion 360 (if you want to make your own model) Or any other CAD software
• 3d printing slicer (Cura/ Prusa)
• Arduino mini/nano (if you are using Arduino Namo.. Then you will also need a programming breakout board)
• MG995/Mg996r servo motor
• Buck converter
• 12 volt barrel connector(female)
• 12 volt 2 amp power supply adaptor (1 amp will be workable)
• 2 dpdt 6 pin Switches + 2 momentary push buttons
• 3 Small 3mm LEDs
• Resistors 1k * 3
• Heatshrink tube
• 47k potentiometer ( I had a dual gang one... So I used that because that have a metal Shaft... A normal plastic one will also work)
• Wires
• Soldering items
• Drill machine
• Other random tools

** If you want to use my files..then pls give me some time.. I need to Finalize the files...

Here are the files..If you want to have a look...

For this project, I used the version of the personal license of the famous CAD software - Fusion 360...

Basically, I planned the whole thing on paper beforehand... And then.. Infusion 360, I modeled everything according to that...

I Firstly created the gears..

Then the enclosure... And then adjusted their positions and refined everything afterward...

I know that this project could be done in other ways. But I did it this way.

When my basic model was prepared.. I used my calipers and the real life dimensions from the other components and refined my model... I added supportive pieces...made screw hole places... And so on...

I also added switch covers including the potentiometer Knob...

At first I was bit confused about the gear ratio... I knew that I have to make a high gear ratio.. To slow down the final rotation speed....

After calculating the maximum speed of the Servo... I decided to make a 1:8 gear ratio...

So I decided the gears in 3 parts... One with 80 teeth...one with dual gear system... With 40,20 configuration. And the last one with 20 teeth.... Which I attached with the Servo Motor...

After designing the gears... I designed the enclosure. I decided the enclosure in 3 separate pieces... And attached the gear covers with the top and bottom piece.... I initially decided to print them separately and then fix them in their positions.. But later I realized that printing those together with the large pieces... The structural strength will be increased... And the need and complication with the fixing process is gone..

After the everything is finalized, I added the needed chamfers, fillets and other important features like the holes and the tolerance gaps...

Without this step the final model will not be able to fit easily... Because it's always true that 3d printers do have a micro printing mistakes...

After my model is finalized... I exported each pieces separately as STL files...

And then imported them in Cura slicer...

One thing to mention here... That I didn't used 100% infill for any parts... The 3 pieces of the enclosure was printed in 0.28 mm layer hight.... With 25 % infill...

The gears has 0.2 mm layer hight with 60% infill...

And as the knobs and the buttons are so tiny... They are printed with only the wall lines...

I will add the STL files after a small adjustments... Very soon....

As I stated in last steps.. I printed everything with PLA filament.... Some with white and some with black filaments....

The total print time was around 70 hours... I printed one after another...

*if you want consistent print quality in every prints... Pls make sure to check the bed level twice before each print set...

As for my ender 3...it's a brand new machine.. And it did the job as expected...

I used white filament for the gears and the knobs..

And then I used the black filament.... Don't try to print in both colour alternatively... That will cause black filament showing in the white parts...

As my 3d parts are printed in a 3d printer.... It obviously had some stringing and support structure.... I cut them off with my exacto knife and sanded the extra with 60 and 100 grit sandpapers...

Cleaning the parts is a very important and a satisfied part of the whole project....

After cleaning the extra bits and pieces... It's time to drill the holes in correct size...

You can notice that I didn't made any pre sized holes In my model... Because I know that we don't live in a same place... And the availability of screw types are different everywhere.... That's why I left the holes in 1 mm diameter..

So now... Firstly I selected one screw size... And then drilled holes in a slightly smaller diameter... And then forcefully attached the screw with a screwdriver... Thus the threads are made in the plastic parts...

Now... After the 3d printing and cleaning part is done....

It's a nice time to test fit everything before starting fitting any electronic parts...

. Just follow my design and pictures.. It's a very easy job to do

After the test fit is successful.. It's time for the next steps...

I Firstly learned to write codes for arduino... Then I made my somehow personalized code.. With the help of the reference videos...

One thing to keep in mind... That..as I have used a 360 servo motor.. It will not work like the normal motors... I bought the Servo from amazon... As in my local area... No one has even know what is a servo😕...

But unfortunately.. I got a 360 servo... Which was kind OK for my job.. But definitely very frustrating if I wanted to do anything like proper servo type works....

After writing the code... I simply selected the board, Com port and the boot loader... And uploaded the code... Here I want to declare one thing... I am no way a expert or even experienced one..in the field of microcontrollers and these kind of stuffs.... So pls pardon me if I have made a mistake..

I will be very glad if anyone of you help me to improve my code... Thanks in advance...

Firstly I gathered all the important components...

And then I started to mount the components in their correct positions..

I already had a 360 servo (with my dizzy luck).... So I didn't needed to mod the Servo to make it rotate freely...

If I had needed that. The process is very simple.....

• Firstly take off the 4 screws from the Servo...
• Disconnect the board from the Servo... And open the gear area....
• If you have the metal gearbox (original servo)... Then there will be a pin in the largest gear... You have to remove that my either pulling that away... Or just chopping that with a rotary tool....
• Then remove the potentiometer using a soldering iron... And make a voltage divider with two 10k ohm resistors..

Thus you can mod a normal servo into 360 or continuous rotating servo...

Now it's time to start assembling the project.... For that... Gather all the items... All the 2d printed pieces and other hardwares and electronics components...

I used a 6205RS coded ball bearing... Which have diameter of 52mm in outside... 25 mm inside... And 15 mm of hight or depth or thickness.. If you can't find the exact ball bearing.. Then let me know... If I could make the model adjusted for you...

Now..simply push the ball bearing in it's intended pocket in the upper portion of the enclosure top...

If the piece isn't fitting... Then try sanding the insides of the part.... I also faced the same issue.. And just after sanding a little bit... My ball bearing fits nicely...

Now... Take the Part A of the 80 teeth gear... And push that down in the ball bearing... It will be a snug and tight fit... So if isn't fitting... Again sand the outside of the piece... It will fit nicely...

Don't press too hard... Take your time.... It will be a strong fit... If you sand down extra material ... Then it will be loose or might even broke off...

Now... It's time to attach the Part B of the 80 teeth gear with the part A...

I made threads... So it won't be hard to fit.....

Now.. Firstly upside down the top piece.... And place the 40-20 gear in it's position... Then simply screw the larger gear in place.... Don't tight is too much.. It might break.... I made a nice hole in the gear... To fill that with 2 part clay epoxy.. Or m seal.. If you want to make the piece more strong...

Now.. The first assembly part is done...

Firstly take off the screws from the Servo Motor...and disassemble the Servo

Now expose the metal gear part... And heat that with a heat gun... Or any other method...

When the metal is warm enough... Carefully place the gear head in the 20 teeth gear hole... Make sure to check if the parts are parallel to each other.... The heat will help to make it's own groves....when it's cools down... Simply take apart the pieces..

While the Servo is open... Make sure to remove the rubber piece from the wires joint.. And reassemble the servo...

Then again attach the gear with the head...

Now just simply place the Servo in it's intended place in the bottom piece of the enclosure and drill holes in the support piece and screw down the Servo with the base.... My models have enough clearance to make sure the Servo won't rattle in the base... But for safety... I also used some hot glue...

It's a easy step... Just follow my given diagrams... And start attaching wires with the electronic parts..

Add 470 ohm resistors with the leds... Then attach wires... And then finally seal the ports with heat shrink tubes...

Similarly... Add more wires with every components.. Like the potentiometer, the barrel jack, buck converter, switch and others...

Also add header pint to the arduino... In the pin A0, D5, D6, D9, GND, 5V pins...

Soldier the switches in blank PCB board... And wire accordingly...

Now mount the leds in their intended locations...

Fix the potentiometer and the 12 volt connector in their places with nuts and washers...

Add the Knob cover for the potentiometer...

Place the button covers and place the wired buttons on them.... Then simply hot glue them in place...

Now follow my given wiring diagram to complete the rest of the wiring.... It's better to use minimum length of wires... Otherwise you will also have a mess of wires...

I even tried to use a zip tie to neatly tuck the wires together.. (just an attempt)

I simply used a piece of vinyl wrap... Of wood texture... And added on top of the piece... It's only for the decoration purpose... You can use anything else.... You can paint the surface...... Anything that is OK for you...

I stuck a big piece on the round cardboard...

Then simply trimmed the excess off with a scissor...

Now... You can glue down the top with the rest of the body.. But I left that unattached... So later I will be able to use different kinds of bases for different shots.... I might make more bases in future

One thing in thinking to make a adapter thingy to use the cutouts with the rotating part of the gears (part a of 80 teeth gear)... And stick that with the top plates...so it will be way easier to attach the plates with the machine...

If anyone of you is interested to get that one... Pls let me know in the comment section bellow... I will make that...

Now.. Let's complete the build.... After rechecking all the wiring... Plug a 12volt power supply....

If everything is done correctly... It will work just fine....

There are two switches in the left side... The upper one is to turn on the machine...

The 2nd one is for toggling between two modes.. (the lights will indicate the mode...)

If the middle light is on... Then the potentiometer is active... In this mode.. You can turn the potentiometer to rotate the plate... In both direction continuously.... The speed can be adjusted easily...

Then 2nd mode is for the right buttons... Those are momentary push buttons.. Which will turn the motor when pressed.. The top one is for left turn... The lower one is for right turn...

If everything goes well... Now screw the 3 pieces together.... And the project is done.... You can make marking for the buttons and there functions... I skipped that part...

And thus you make your own electronic Turntable.. With a excess amount of parts, time, money, and patience...

Except those.... I'm super satisfied with the result.... I Don't think that if I revisit this project... I will make this like this anymore... I have learned a lot while making this project.... Not only about CAD modeling.. Or arduino codes.... I leaned many more happy lessons of product designing, engineering (basic), execution, methods and many more...

If you want to make this project for yourself.... Pls let me know in the comments... Where I will help you if you get any problem in the process....

That's all for this project... Thanks for having a look at my project.... Hope you liked this project...

A great thanks to Instructables.. Who let small creators like me show my works to everyone...

Have a nice day 😄.....

*I will make a complete build guide video of this project on my channel... Soon.... So if you are interested... Stay tuned... Until then.. Stay creative... And i will be back with another new project soon...